An 8-week-old typically drinks 24 to 30 ounces of milk per day, spread across 8 to 12 feedings. That works out to roughly 3 to 4 ounces per feeding, though the exact amount varies depending on your baby’s weight, whether they’re breastfed or formula-fed, and their individual appetite.
Daily Totals and Per-Feeding Amounts
Between 1 and 6 months of age, most babies take in 3 to 4 ounces per feeding and 24 to 30 ounces over a full day. At 8 weeks, your baby is on the lower end of that window, so closer to 24 ounces is perfectly normal. Some hungrier babies will consistently land near 30.
A helpful rule of thumb from the American Academy of Pediatrics: babies need about 2.5 ounces of formula or breast milk per day for every pound of body weight. So if your baby weighs 10 pounds, that’s roughly 25 ounces total. A 12-pound baby would need closer to 30 ounces. This calculation gives you a personalized target rather than a one-size-fits-all number.
At this age, your baby’s stomach holds between 4 and 6 ounces, which is why feedings stay small and frequent. Trying to push more than that in a single session can lead to spit-up and discomfort.
Breastfed vs. Formula-Fed Babies
Breastfed babies typically eat more often than formula-fed babies. The CDC recommends expecting 8 to 12 breastfeeding sessions in 24 hours for young infants. That can feel relentless, but breast milk digests faster than formula, so shorter intervals between feedings are normal. You won’t be able to measure exact ounces at the breast, which is why other signs of adequate intake (covered below) matter so much for breastfeeding parents.
Formula-fed babies at this age usually settle into a rhythm of feeding every 3 to 4 hours. Because formula takes longer to digest, they tend to go longer between bottles and take slightly larger volumes per feeding. Most formula-fed infants don’t need more than 32 ounces in a day. If your baby consistently exceeds that, it’s worth mentioning to your pediatrician, as it can sometimes signal the bottle is being used to soothe rather than to feed.
How to Tell Your Baby Is Getting Enough
Since you can’t peer inside your baby’s stomach, diapers are the most reliable daily gauge. After the first week of life, a baby who’s getting enough milk produces at least 6 wet diapers per day. The number of dirty diapers varies more widely and isn’t as useful a metric on its own, especially as babies get older and some go days between bowel movements.
Weight gain is the gold standard over time. In the first few months, healthy babies gain about 1 ounce per day, or roughly 5 to 7 ounces per week. Your pediatrician tracks this on a growth chart at well-child visits. Consistent upward movement along a growth curve matters more than hitting an exact number on any single day.
Reading Your Baby’s Hunger and Fullness Cues
Rather than watching the clock or counting ounces obsessively, paying attention to your baby’s behavior is the most reliable feeding guide. Hunger cues at this age include rooting (turning the head toward anything that touches the cheek), bringing hands to the mouth, and fussing. Crying is actually a late hunger cue, so catching the earlier signals makes feedings smoother for both of you.
Fullness cues are equally important. When your 8-week-old has had enough, they’ll close their mouth, turn their head away from the breast or bottle, and relax their hands. Clenched fists during feeding often signal the baby is still actively hungry, while open, relaxed fingers suggest satisfaction. Respecting these signals rather than pushing to finish a bottle helps your baby develop healthy self-regulation from the start.
When Intake Seems Too Low or Too High
Some babies go through a growth spurt right around 6 to 8 weeks, temporarily wanting to eat more frequently or taking larger volumes. This can last a few days and then settle back to a normal pattern. It doesn’t mean your milk supply is dropping or that your formula isn’t filling enough.
Signs that intake might genuinely be too low include fewer than 6 wet diapers a day, a noticeably lethargic baby, or weight that plateaus or drops at a pediatric visit. On the other end, frequent forceful vomiting (not just spit-up), extreme fussiness after feedings, or consistently exceeding 32 ounces of formula per day can suggest overfeeding. Both situations are worth a conversation with your pediatrician, but occasional off days in either direction are completely normal.